Our 2022-2023 Concert Schedule

Programs are subject to change

Printable Schedule (PDF): SJCMS 2022-2023 Brochure

Concerts are held at St. Francis Episcopal Church, in the Willow Glen
area of San Jose, 1205 Pine Avenue at the corner of Newport Avenue.
No pre-concert talks will be provided for this season.

---

October 15, 2022    Trio con Brio Copenhagen

PROGRAM

• BEETHOVEN Piano Trio in E-flat Major, Op.70/No.2 (1808)
  
• PROKOFIEV Suite from 10 Pieces from Romeo and Juliet, Op.75 (1937), arr. by Trio con Brio Copenhagen
  
• SHOSTAKOVICH Piano Trio No.2 in E Minor, Op.67 (1944)
  

MUSIC

Beethoven’s Trio is “relaxed, even-keeled, benificent,...” and freshly expressive.
As Prokofiev sought, his ballet score tells Shakespeare’s love story in music “immediately appealing yet sounding like nothing written before.”
Shostakovich’s 1944 Trio is a haunting elegy to the loss of a close friend and is his lament for the victims of the Holocaust, news of which deeply affected Shostakovich. 

ARTISTS

Trio con Brio Copenhagen (combining two sisters, and a cellist- pianist marriage) are in great demand as worldwide touring artists. Formed in 1999, and soon winning piano trio competitions, the Trio is now acknowledged one of the finest in the world. Their Shostakovich & Arensky CD won the 2022 German Record Critic’s Award. “Unforgettable playing.” (BBC Music magazine). “We can now see the con Brio as the worthy successors of the legendary Beaux Arts Trio.” (Diapason)

---

November 20, 2022    Ensemble San Francisco

PROGRAM

• Solbong KIM From the Sixth Hour for Piano Quartet (2005)
  
• BEETHOVEN Sonata for cello & piano No.4 in C Minor, Op.102/No.1 (1815)
  
• SHOSTAKOVICH Five Pieces for Two Violins and Piano (arr. 1970 by Lev Atovmyan)
• Polina NAZAYKINSKAYA Songs for Tasya (2021)
• BRAHMS Piano Quartet No.1 in G Minor, Op.25, Gypsy Rondo (1861)
  

MUSIC

Kim “speaks a musical language that is modern yet non- doctrinal.” (The Korea Times).
Beethoven’s “late” Op.102/No.1, subtitled “Free Sonata,” is fantasy-like.
Shostakovich’s Five Pieces— Prelude, Gavotte, Elegy, Waltz, Polka—are delightful.
Nazaykinskaya’s Songs for Tasya is a dark lullaby and an anthem of courage.
Brahms’ marvelous and expansive quartet thrills with its wild “Gypsy Style” ending.

ARTISTS

Top Bay Area musicians founded Ensemble San Francisco in 2013 to perform on main stages—and for children, youth and elders. Ensemble San Francisco, with its core four and guests, is “a hip, unstuffy, and malleable group of high-quality chamber musicians” raves the SF Classical Voice, with an “amazing amount of talent!” (examiner.com).

---

January 29, 2023    Pražák String Quartet

PROGRAM

• HAYDN String Quartet in G Major, Op.77, No.1 (1799)
  
• Erwin SCHULHOFF “Five Pieces for String Quartet” (1924)
  
• SCHUBERT String Quartet in D Minor, D.810, (1824), “Death and the Maiden”
  

MUSIC

Haydn’s Op.77 final complete quartets masterfully blend thematic, chordal and contrapuntal part-writing with new heights of expressiveness, and sophisticated use of folk melodies.
Czech Erwin Schullhoff’s Five Pieces are a suite of dances: Viennese Waltz, Serenade, Czech folk music, Tango, and Tarantella.
Schubert’s lyrical, dramatic Quartet No.14 draws on his song “Der Tod und das Mädchen” (1817).

ARTISTS

Welcome the Praˇzák’s fifth appearance here—an audience favorite ensemble now renewed by two new Czech members. Since its founding in 1972 at Prague Conservatory, the Praˇzák’s acclaimed musicianship has brought to world attention the unique Czech string quartet tradition. The “engaging” and “superb foursome” (Chicago Tribune) has toured worldwide for 30+ years, and released 50+ award-winning CDs on Praga/ Harmonia Mundi. “Poetic...powerful performance” (LA Times).

---

February 11, 2023    Van Kuijk String Quartet with Sean Shibe

PROGRAM

• MENDELSSOHN String Quartet in F Minor, Op.80 (1847)
• BOCCHERINI Guitar Quintet No.4 in D Major, G.448 (1798), “Fandango”
• ADÈS Habanera (2015) (guitar solo)
• de FALLA Homenaje: Le Tombeau de Claude Debussy (1921) (guitar solo)
• POULENC Sarabande (guitar solo)
• CASTELNUOVO-TEDESCO Guitar Quintet, Op.143 (1950)
  

MUSIC

Mendelssohn’s impassioned Quartet is his emotional elegy for his sister Fanny’s death.
Boccherini’s “Fandango” Quintet closes with the lively Spanish dance!
Shibe’s solos are gems: a dance from an Adès opera;
de Falla’s tribute to Debussy;
Poulenc’s hauntingly beautiful Sarabande.
Meeting Segovia inspired Castelnuovo-Tedesco to write nearly 100 works for guitar.

ARTISTS

Van Kuijk’s international accolades include 2015 Wigmore Hall Competition 1st prize-winners and European Concert Hall Rising Stars. “Style, energy and a sense of risk. These four young Frenchmen made the music smile.” (The Guardian).
Grammy-winning Scottish guitarist Sean Shibe performs worldwide: UK/Europe, China, USA. “the most interesting voice on the guitar for a generation” (Gramophone Awards Issue).

---

March 11, 2023    Esmé String Quartet

PROGRAM

• BORODIN Quartet No.2 in D Major (1881)
  
• György LIGETI Quartet No.1, “Métamorphoses nocturnes” (1953-54)
  
• TCHAIKOVSKY Quartet No.1 in D Major, Op.11 (1871)
  

MUSIC

Borodin’s 2nd Quartet, composed as an anniversary love letter to his wife, is full of deservedly loved music.
Ligeti’s Quartet, with Bartók- inspired tone and rhythms, in 12 short segments interestingly transforms its major 2nd intervals.
Tchaikovsky’s folk-flavored 1st Quartet, the first great Russian string quartet before Borodin, is famed for its poignant, beloved Andante cantabile 2nd mvmt. 

ARTISTS

The Esmé Quartet, since winning first and four special prizes at the 2018 prestigious Wigmore Hall Competition (London), is touring to international acclaim. Based in Germany, the group was formed in 2016 at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne by four South Koreans who have long been friends. “(They) play with depth and maturity...” (Suddeutsche Zeitung). “lyricism and airy limpidity,...profoundity and unexpected allure.” 5 stars. (Diapason).

---

April 23, 2023    Delphi Piano Trio

PROGRAM

• Lili BOULANGER D’un matin de printemps [Of a spring morning] (1917)
  
• Clara Wieck SCHUMANN Piano Trio in G Minor, Op.17 (1846)
• Gabriela Lena FRANK Four Folk Songs for Piano Trio (2012)
  
• Fanny HENSEL (née Mendelssohn) Piano Trio in D Minor, Op.11 (1846)
  

MUSIC

Celebrate music by women! Revelatory music by two well-known musicians of the Romantic era, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Felix’s talented sister, and Clara Wieck Schumann, known as ‘Queen of the Piano.’
Lili Boulanger’s masterful tone poem has expressive depth.
Contemporary California composer Gabriela Lena Frank’s lively and colorful Folk Songs draw inspiration from her mother’s homeland, Peru.

ARTISTS

Praised for “spot-on ensemble playing and a beautifully-blended sound” (SF Classical Voice), the Delphi Trio of Bay Area stars has performed widely in Europe, Canada, and the U.S., and has become a powerfully eloquent voice. Their debut album, Triptych, won Gramophone’s praise, and their world premieres are acclaimed. “Rich committed string tone, dazzling pianism, rhythmic flexibility” (Sarasota Herald Tribune).

---